Carseland fire hall site set

By Sharon McLeay Times Contributor

The new Carseland fire hall plans took a step ahead on Sept. 18 when Wheatland County council approved the re-designation bylaw for the new 3.5-acre site of the hall on RR 260.
Wheatland County staff will now move forward with the subdivision application. An area on the site not used for the hall will continue to house the sewage lagoons that service Carseland.
“Carseland is identified as a growth node within the RGMS and this re-designation would assist in supporting the future Carseland fire hall. It also provides enhanced emergency services for rural residents in the south and west regions of the county, which facilitates good planning and growth potential. With the drafting of a new industrial area structure plan in close proximity to the proposed re-designation area, the proposed fire hall will support higher-risk uses in this area,” stated Colton Nickel, senior planner for the county.
The site was also chosen because the county had available land away from the CPR rail line, which will protect emergency response in the event of a rail accident. Council also accepted as information the conceptual drawings and schematics for the new hall, done by SAHURI + Partners Architecture Inc.

Land use for natural resource extractions changed
Changes to the land use bylaw concerning natural resources extraction and processing received first reading approval by Wheatland County council on Sept 18. It changes the zoning from discretionary into a designation of its own.
The move was, in part, to eliminate the need to refer applications of this nature to the municipal planning commission. The changes include specifics for medical marijuana facility guidelines and shipping containers, and a nuisance clause that may help in the future with some of the industrial placement issues currently of concern to residents.
“The shift of decision making to council ensures that the county’s long-term strategic direction in terms of planning and development remains in the hands of the elected officials chosen by their communities to represent them and ensure a high quality of life. Although gravel pits provide distinct community benefits and a public benefit, it is important that they are planned and decisions on their location in the county are made in way that balances ratepayer concerns with new development potential,” stated Colton Nickel, senior planner. “This aligns with the county’s new public participation policy; statutory documents as outlined will hopefully mitigate potential concern for ratepayers with these developments in the future.”
Public hearing for the bylaw is set for Nov. 6 in council chambers.

Inter-municipal development agreements
Council has been involved in housekeeping regarding their intermunicipal development agreements. While agreements were done on a voluntary basis in the past, the government has moved to require mandatory agreements. It is hoped it will ensure smooth interactions between adjacent counties and support regional planning. The Alberta Urban Municipalities Association put forward a request for mandatory contracts and the government incorporated the request in the modernized Municipal Government Act (MGA).
“On April 1, 2018, amendments to the Municipal Government Act went into effect that requires all municipalities to have an intermunicipal development plan (IDP) with adjacent municipalities. These amendments also added additional requirements for what IDPs should entail, including provisions for environmental considerations,” said Colton Nickel, senior planner for the county.
Wheatland County is currently dealing with County of Newell and Kneehill County IDPs. The agreement deals with approximately two miles on either side of the adjacent county borders. It is hoped the contracts will promote cooperation, consultation, communication and clear frameworks for development affecting both counties, leading to cost savings and protection for each party’s development philosophy and a basis for mitigation if disagreements arise.
Wheatland County staff also brought up a request to adapt the planning communication circulation guidelines to landowners, which currently includes a mailout of one-mile radius around the application. If the application affects an intermunicipal boundary, landowner contact information would be shared with the adjacent county for communication circulation.
“Based on discussions with our adjacent municipalities, it is clear that they would prefer to circulate any adjacent planning applications to Wheatland County residents themselves, to ensure that they are meeting MGA requirements and receiving all of the responses through one individual for efficiency purposes. This would change our processes, in that we would provide the contact information of residents within one mile of a proposed application in an adjacent municipality to that municipality if requested, through the circulation process. If it was not requested, we would not automatically provide it to them unless alternate policies are specified in an IDP,” said Colton Nickel senior planner for the county. “Based on staff research of other municipalities around Alberta, this is the standard process and will meet all FOIP regulations for information sharing and privacy as well. If this policy is adopted by council, staff would provide the adjacent municipality with the contact information of the adjacent county residents for them to circulate their planning applications too.”
Public hearings will be posted in the local newspaper concerning the agreements.

South Central Mutual Aid Agreement adds partners
Three new partners – Tsuu’tina Nation, the Town of Strathmore and Improvement District No. 9 have signed up to be part of the South Central Mutual Aid Agreement, which allows members to call on other municipalities for emergency response in the event of a disaster or emergencies. The acceptance of the contracts will increase the partnerships to 27.

Group formed to review fire services bylaw
Wheatland County council met with village councils and fire protection associations on Sept. 10. The council is reaching out to the provincial Office of the Fire Commissioner to offer assistance and conduct a review, as well as providing an assessment of the county’s ability to meet all liabilities and responsibilities in providing fire services in the area. A group has been created, with two councillors and two senior members of administration alongside five member associations, to review the proposed fire services bylaw 2018-07 with hopes of moving towards second and third reading. Second reading has not yet occurred.